Indians Prospect Insider

INF Cristo Arnal has been moved up to Double-A Akron today, and OF Mickey Hall has been moved up to Triple-A Columbus. OF George Lombard has been placed on the Columbus disabled list. While not official, INF Matt Willard should replace Arnal on the Kinston roster.
Also, RHP Masa Kobayashi is officially with Columbus, and to make room for him RHP Blaine Neal was put on the reserve list (Mahoning...

Some roster moves in the past 24-48 hours:
- 1B/C Nate Recknagel has beem promoted to Kinston, and OF John Allman has been reassigned to Lake County.
- 3B Jeremie Tice has been activated from the Lake County disabled list, and INF Matt Willard has been placed on the reserve list (Mahoning Valley).

The Columbus Clippers had the day off.
Aeros fall
The Aeros had a chance to strike first immediately as Jose Constanza opened the game with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. Beau Mills then drew a walk two batters later and a groundout advanced both men to scoring position, but Jared Goedert struck out to end the inning.
Trenton opened the scoring in the bottom of the...

Saarloos Shines In Scranton
The Clippers (20-20) closed out a series win with a 4-1 victory over Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Columbus has fought back to the .500 mark for the first time since April 16th with nine wins in the last eleven games.
The Clippers started the scoring early, tallying two runs in the first inning on RBI singles by Jordan Brown and Josh Barfield. The Yankees got a...

It was a short experiment - two appearances - but the Indians have decided to move RHP Hector Rondon back to the rotation. This was news actually reported elsewhere (I believe the Plain Dealer) over the weekend, but I was out of town and did not report it. But, I had some questions if in fact this report was true and just wanted to make note of it. He is scheduled to start tomorrow's game for Akron....

Ok, it is the wee hours of May the 19th and once again I find myself not being able to fall asleep before 2:30am. We had an off day so I cannot blame the game for my insomnia only the nap I took at 9pm.
In any event as like my last post the Akron Aeros are still in first place riding high off of a good start to our roadie by going 4-1 in Altoona. But sadly we lost a great teammate and person...

Here we are, back again for another round of Diamonds in Single A. This week’s article will focus on a bat, Kinston outfielder Matt Brown. From this point on I will try and go back and forth from pitcher to hitter every week, and once June arrives I will also show this year’s stats. I hated to use this year’s stats when we were just a month in, but after two months the sample size is much stronger.

Akron had a scheduled off day on Monday.
Clippers move into first place with win
It took more than nine innings, but was worth the wait for the Clippers as they vault into first place on the strength of a 5-4, 11-inning win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
Early on, Columbus saw a steady diet of breaking balls from Yankees starter Casey Fossum. Though the Clippers had...

Aeros left fielder Nick Weglarz was named Eastern League Player of the Week today for the week ending May 17th. He became the first Akron player this season to win a weekly honor, as the Aeros are off to their best start in franchise history and own the best record in professional baseball at 27-8.
Weglarz hit .458 (11-24) last week with three doubles, a home run, six runs scored and was tied...

When it comes to versatility as a pitcher, Double-A Akron right-hander Josh Tomlin is the epitome of versatility.
Tomlin, 24, is one of the Indians better pitching prospects often overlooked by fans mostly because he doesn

Clippers split double header
In game one, the Clippers were shut out, having just four hits, while starter Jack Cassel (2-4 7.04) went the distance allowing four hits, three earned runs, and walking two, while striking out three. His downfall was giving up two long balls on the day.
In game two, the Clippers struck early when Andy Marte doubled in the first to score Trevor Crowe.

RHP Masa Kobayashi has accepted his assignment down to Columbus. In turn, LHP David Huff was added to the 25-man roster. He will make the start against Tampa this afternoon.
Also, LHP Tony Sipp was outrighted to Columbus. In turn, RHP Greg Aquino has been added to the 25-man roster.
To make room for Aquino on the 40-man roster, Scott Lewis has been transferred from the 15-day DL to...

Today, the Indians traded RHP Randy Newsom to the Pittsburgh Pirates. No word on what compensation the Indians will receive in return, if anything. Pittsburgh's Double-A affiliate Altoona is playing Akron today, so it will be an easy transition for Newsom as he will flip sides and be in the Altoona dugout today. More details later.

The Columbus Clippers game was rained out on Saturday.
Aeros fall in first game, second game washed out
The Aeros fell to Altoona 8-0 in game one of a doubleheader Saturday night at Blair County Ballpark, with game two rained out. The postponed contest will be made up as part of a twin-bill Sunday afternoon starting at 2:05 p.m., which is an hour earlier that originally scheduled.

As I noted last night, LHP David Huff will be called up to start Sunday's game in St. Petersburg against the Tampa Rays. No word still who he replaced on the 25-man and who is removed from the 40-man, but it very well could be Masa Kobayashi.
Also, while I have been away in Miami (I return late tomorrow night), there have been some roster moves in the system:
- At Lake County 3B Jeremie...

Every year of late, it seems a new hot shot young Latin American pitcher opens the season at Low-A Lake County and their career just takes off. Recently, right-handers Hector Rondon and Jeanmar Gomez did this in 2007 and last year left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz did it as well. This year, the new big Latin American pitching prospect being put on display at Lake County is right-hander Alexander Perez.

Indians LHP David Huff is set to make his MLB debut on Sunday against the Tampa Rays. I am out in Miami, but got word that he is in transit to Tampa and will make that debut this Sunday. Congrats to Dave on the call and good luck!

Clippers sweep IronPigs
The Clippers put on an offensive show on Friday night scoring at least one run in every inning except the seventh and eighth. The only two players for the Clippers who did not have a hit were Travis Hafner and Wyatt Toregas.
In the bottom of the first, Chris Gimenez drove a two-run home run to left field, scoring Brantley, putting Columbus up 2-0.
In...

Columbus sweeps double header
In game one, the Clippers won it in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the seventh off a Chris Gimenez walk.
However, the Clippers got off to an early 2-0 lead off a sac fly from Michael Aubrey and an RBI double off the bat of Jordan Brown.
In the bottom of the third, tied at two, the Clippers took the lead again via the long bomb, when Michael Aubrey...

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!